


to be alone with you

by lumoshyperion



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 20:03:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21397867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumoshyperion/pseuds/lumoshyperion
Summary: After the argument with his dad, Albus does the only thing that makes sense. He goes straight to Scorpius. (a post blanket scene one-shot)
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 24
Kudos: 158





	to be alone with you

“You are tired,  
(I think)  
Of the always puzzle of living and doing;  
And so am I.  
Come with me, then, and we’ll leave it far and far away-  
(Only you and I, understand!)  
You have played,  
(I think)  
And broke the toys you were fondest of,  
And are a little tired now;  
Tired of things that break, and-  
Just tired.  
So am I.” - e.e. cummings

Albus didn’t know what to do. So he went to the first place that came to mind and it was only when he stumbled out of the fireplace and almost ran into a bewildered Draco Malfoy, who took in his tear stained cheeks and crumpled pajamas without speaking, that it occurred to him that maybe he should have just stayed at home. He’d never even visited his best friend’s house before. The animosity between his father and the man standing before him had seen to that. 

But it was almost instinctual - running downstairs from his bedroom and hurling a handful of floo powder into the fireplace before his mother could stop him. He just couldn’t be in that house anymore. And he had nowhere else to go.

“He’s in his room,” Draco said, breaking the silence. “Up the stairs, third door on the left.”

Unable to speak out loud, Albus settled on a quick nod of thanks before following his directions to the second level of the house. When he came to a bedroom on the left hand side of the winding hallway, it wasn’t Draco's words that confirmed who it belonged to. All it took was one glance at the mess of books, stacked on every available surface, and the pile of school clothes and vibrant jumpers pouring out of the wardrobe for Albus to know it was Scorpius' bedroom.

And sitting amongst the chaos, with two books in his hands and a look of concentration on his face, was Scorpius. Even from where he was standing, Albus could still see the small curve of his lips into a soft smile – a hint of the sort of unconscious joy he could always find in his friend. And Albus felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over him. 

He had come over, uninvited, to off load the argument with his dad. But what did he expect Scorpius to do about it? It wasn’t his responsibility. Albus had pushed and pushed his dad until he finally told him his true feelings. And now he was going to ruin his best friend's night as well. He almost turned on his heel and ran back downstairs, before Scorpius looked up and grinned at him.

“Albus!” He exclaimed. But as he took in his appearance, the smile faded and he stood up, the two books hanging limp at his sides. “Albus? What is it, what’s wrong?”

Still speechless, with a lump in his throat and the threat of more tears in his eyes, Albus walked over to the bed - sitting down on the floor and drawing his knees up to his chest.

Scorpius followed and sat down beside him. "Did something happen?" He asked. "Your dad - Did you fight again?"

Albus crouched over his knees, clinging to them with all his might as he tried to summon the words to explain what had happened. "Dad was – giving us all some gifts, before we go back to Hogwarts. Lily got some wings, James got dad's cloak, and I got an old blanket.” Even as he explained it, Albus cringed to himself. Suddenly he felt trivial and small, and all the more aware of Scorpius staring at him.

"An old blanket?"

Albus nodded, his chin tapping his knees. "It was his baby blanket. I think - I think he expected us to bond over it, but we didn't, and I got so angry," He paused and closed his eyes. The inevitable truth of their argument was screaming at him, but somehow speaking it out loud was an impossible act. "We started fighting. I wouldn’t stop shouting at him, I was so upset, and then - and then he said – he said that he -"

Albus stopped, his eyes swimming with tears as he trembled with sobs. All he could see was his dad advancing towards him with that look of blind rage on his face. He'd never seen him that angry before. And Albus was so scared. Scorpius reached over and held his hand, which had started shaking. Leaning over his knees, he rested his forehead on their hands, trying to ground himself. 

When he continued, his voice was thick with emotion, and barely above a whisper. "He said - he said there were times he wished I wasn't his son."

It hung in the air for a long, awful moment. And when Albus looked up, he saw the expression of shock on Scorpius' face, before he started to shake his head. "I'm sure he didn't mean that -"

Albus sat up straight and scowled. "Of course he did! Why else would he say it?"

"Albus..."

He had regretted raising his voice almost as soon as the words left his mouth, but seeing the melancholy in Scorpius' eyes pushed Albus back into that overwhelming sense of guilt he'd felt, standing in the doorway just moments ago. He looked away and crouched over his knees again, making himself as small as possible. "It's my fault. I started shouting at him and - I don't blame him, for what he said. I wouldn't want me as a son either." Before Scorpius could respond, he looked up and quickly concluded, "I'm sorry. I didn't - I didn't know where else to go. So I came here."

Scorpius watched him for a moment, before shuffling across the floor to sit by his side. Albus wanted to shy away, to avoid eye contact, to take up as little space as possible. But then Scorpius moved to sit behind him and wrapped his arms around him, leaning his head on his shoulder and stroking the small of his wrist with his thumb. In spite of himself, Albus relaxed into the embrace. It had not occurred to him how much he just wanted to be held, like that. When his dad tried to reach out to him as he left his bedroom, Albus had cringed away as though burned. But he couldn’t remember the last time he'd accepted his dad's touch, however hard he tried to conjure a memory of it. In spite of everything, in spite of all they’d said to each other – he still wanted it. He still missed it.

There was a sudden sound like a rustling of wings from the doorway and Albus looked up as a paper plane flew through the room and into Scorpius' waiting hands. He unfolded the paper and read the cursive handwriting enclosed within. "It's from mum. She wants to know if you'd like some chocolate."

"Okay," Albus replied, and watched as the paper folded itself up again and flew back out of the room.

"Albus?" Scorpius queried, his voice high with concern. Albus looked back over at him and frowned. "You don't have to say sorry to me. What your dad said - it's awful - but -" He stopped, glancing down at the space between them, before continuing, “I am glad that you came to me. And he's wrong, you know? Your dad. He's lucky to have a son like you and - I'm lucky to have a friend like you. If he can't see that then it's his own fault. _Not_ your's."

Albus didn't know what to say. He could never understand the luck he'd had in finding Scorpius in that compartment before first year. The hours they'd spent, talking on the way to Hogwarts, were the happiest of his life, and he felt determined to repay them in every way he could - in any way he could. But Scorpius was sitting in front of him, fiddling with one of his buttons, and he suddenly felt incredibly unworthy of him.

Before he could even try to respond to what he'd said, there was a knock at the door and they both glanced over as Astoria Malfoy peered inside with two blocks of chocolate in her hand and a small, sympathetic smile on her face. “Draco told me you were here.”

“Yes,” Albus replied, wincing as she made her way across the room and sat down in front of them. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, you don’t need to apologise,” Astoria insisted. “But does your mum know you're here?"

"She saw me use the floo network. But I didn't tell her I was going, I just left,” Albus said, and then frowned to himself as he realised that she probably wanted to call his parents to come pick him up. But he wasn’t ready to go home just yet.

Astoria seemed to sense his disquiet and caught his attention as she reassured him, "I won't call her over, not unless you want me to. Until then, you can stay as long as you like. We can even arrange to have your luggage brought over and we'll take you both to the station tomorrow?"

Scorpius perked up next to him at the suggestion of them driving to King's Cross together and Albus couldn’t help but smile, a little, at the thought of it. "Thank you," he said, making of a point of looking Astoria in the eyes as he did.

Satisfied, she picked up the bars of chocolate and held them out, but then frowned and drew them back. "Wait – Albus, have you had dinner yet?" He nodded and Astoria gave a familiar smile, full of kindness and a sort of innate joy. "Eat up. I'll check in on you later."

As she got up and left, Albus unwrapped his chocolate and broke off a piece, but didn’t eat it. He was still thinking about what Scorpius had said and how inadequate he felt in the face of it. But, reaching a decision, he looked over at him. "You're the best person I know, Scorpius. And I don't - I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Oh," he whispered, his cheeks flushing red. But he was smiling down at his chocolate. "I don't know what I'd do without you, either. And - I meant what I said. Whatever your dad told you, he's wrong. And I'm sure it'll be okay, in the end... maybe if..."

He gave Scorpius a look and hoped it communicated how much he wanted to change the subject. It did, as Scorpius gave an understanding nod before getting up and moving back to the suitcase at the foot of his bed.

“I think I need to use an extension charm, there’s not enough room for all the books I want to bring,” he explained, as he rifled through his belongings, tossing clothes and shoes over his shoulder.

Albus sat up on his knees and leaned against the bed, nibbling on his chocolate as he watched his friend. “Aren’t there enough books for you to read in the library?”

“Well, yes, but their section of Muggle literature is _abysmal_, Albus, and I’m not spending another year owling back and forth with mum and dad for more books to read,” He paused, putting his hands on his hips with a frown, before springing back into action and pointing at Albus, his eyes wide with intent. “Actually, there’s hardly any fiction books at all! I know it’s a school, but – what am I supposed to read when I’ve finished studying for the day?”

Albus shrugged, brushing crumbs off the bed. “Well, there’s that book Uncle Neville keeps trying to recommend us – Maybe you could read that. But what was it called? _Fantastic Fungus and Where to Find Them_?”

“No! No, Albus, that's not even - No, it’s -" Scorpius stopped, overcome with laughter - his nose crinkled with mirth, as he leaned over the suitcase and clutched his side.

Albus beamed at him. The horrible truths of his evening were still toiling at the back of his mind – but his stomach was full of the warmth of Astoria's chocolate and his heart was lighter for the sound of his best friend’s joy – and maybe, just maybe, it was enough to see him through.

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea for this and then wrote it within a matter of hours, so it's by no means polished or anywhere near my best work, but I really wanted to share something with you guys - and I hope you liked it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Title is from "to be alone with you" by Sufjan Stevens.
> 
> The paper plane from Astoria is in part inspired by Paper Dragons by per_mare_ad_astra, which is a must read. One of the best fics in the community - if you haven't read it yet, idk what you're still doing here reading this?? Go read it, now.
> 
> Hopefully should have the Scorbus coming out fic up soon and then the Kiki AU should soon follow, for anyone actually interested in those things! x


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